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@uiten tat's ,incitent @fllte Lettere Patent No, 74,030, dated February 4,' 1868.

IMPROVED BRICK-MACHINE.

@its Srlgrmle referer tu in time ictus ntent mit 'milking part nf tip same.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY ONOERN:

Be it known that I, JOHN ARMSTRONG, of St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis, and State-of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brick-Machines; and I do heseby declare that the'following is a full, clear, and exact descr ption thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making par of this specication, and to the letters ofvreference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

'lo enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my invention,-I will proceed to describe it.

My invention relates to briclvmnchines, andi consists in a novel arrangement of mechanism for moulding, pressing, and delivering` hot-pressed brick. In the drawings- Figure 1 is a top plan view, and

Figure 2 is a longitudinalirertieal section, on the line z a: of iig. 1.

In `constructing my machine, I make the sills A, and over them laya strong platform, A', and on this platform A' erect the frame B, for the support of the principal part'of my mechanism, as shown in both figures. On this platform A'I also place a standard, B', and on it nnount theshaft C, which has its bearing on this standard, and in one side of thcfrane B, as shown in iig. 1,'nnd has upon it the ily-wheel V and pinion L. In theirame B, and parallel with the shaft C, I place the shafts D E,`with their bearings in the sides of the frame. On the ends of the shafts D E, which project through the 'frame B, on the same side with the shaft C, 'I place two spur-wheels, K M, of equal size, which gear into the pinion Il. Within the frame B, on the shaft D, I place three cams, a I) c, and on the shaft E two cams, d e, in form substantially as shown in iig. 2. i The shaft E projects beyond the side ofv the frame B, as shown in fig. 1, and has attached to it a'eo'mpound cam, R, and bevel-wheel, P. The form ofthe compound cam R is shown in dotted lines in iig. 2. The bevel-wheel P gears into the bevel-wheel P', which is placed 'loosely upon the shaft, having its bearings in the standard fastened on the `platform A', bythe foot S. Upon the same shaft is a clutch, a', arranged to engage in a corresponding clutch on the bevel-wheel P'. The edge of the rim or collar, about the clutch on the bevel-wheel P', forms a. cam, 6. The clutch a' has an annular groove, into which engages a lip, c', which is attached to a shaft, d', aboutwhich there is a spiral spring, e', as shown in iig. 1. The spiral spring e' throws the clutch a forward, when it engages the bevel-wheel P', which-thenturns the shaft till the -cam b' comes round and shores the shaft d' back, and the clutches disengage andthe shaft ceases to turn. O n the opposite end of the shaft upon which the` beVeLWh'eeIP' is plae'ed, I attach a grooved pulley, f',4 which I connect with another pulley in the standard C', which communicates 'motion to thedischarge-belt Q, arranged as shown in gs. 1 andv 2.

In the upper side ofthe frame B, and midway from its ends, I place a. die or moulding-box, J, transversely with the frame B.' 'lhjsldie-Jv has an opening, g', sulliciently large to admit the heads of the plungers I-Iand I, as shown in iig. 2, andals'o has hollow spaces, z and z', above and below the opening g'. The heads of the plunger-s II and I are Yalso hollow atg andf, as shown in g. 2. Intoethese hollow spaces I introduce steam by means of the steam-,pipes R', as shown' in4 figs. 1 and 2, for the purpose of heating the die d' and the heads of the plungers I-I and I. I.al so, when desired, introduce steam 4into the lower part of the hopper R', by turning the cock r', as shown in iig. 1. v`The plungers H and I are formed, as shown in g. 1, with an `irregular' opening in each, and arrangedto slide longitudinally between the guides D' I', within the upper sides of the frame B. These guides D' I'are screwed fast' to the frame B, as shown in fig. 1. The plungers H and I have each two projections, G G" and F F', arranged and shaped as shown in fig. 2. On the inner fac'e of the prqiections F and G, I place rollers h' and z", and onthe faces of the projections F' and G', opposite the faces of the p rojec`l tions F and G, I insert movable blocks O' and P", having rollers 7i" and z'" on their front Sides, and spiralv springs L'" and 2"" on their rear sides. These rollers h'h", t" and '1" are operated against by the cams a, b, c, d, and e, .asA shown in iig. 2. On the upper side of the frame B, and directly over the die-box 1I, I place -the hopper IR", as shown in rig. 2, and provide it with a plunger,'S. The perpendicular side of the hopper R has a slot, and the plunger S has a slotted project-ion, E', passing through it. On the sides of the frame B, place two standards, 10, and mount therein a shaft,'o, having one of its ends bent, so as-to engage in and be operated by the compound Acom R, as shown in gs. 1 and 2.v And to the shaft 0, I attach an arm,` F', bent so as to engage in the projection E', as shown in tig. -1. On 4the shaft o, I place a spiral spring, o'. This spring holds the shaft o in place, so as t'o secure its operation by the compound cam R. To the side of the hopper R I pivot a lever, p', so that its lower end will bear against the side of the arm Il", and that its upper end may be locked by the hook q, when it is desired to disengage the shaft E from the compound cam. R, and stop the movement of the plunger S, as shown' in figs. 1 and In the' frame B, below the lower line lof the projection G, I place a shaft, K, transversely, with its bearings in the sides of'the frame B, and with one end bent, so as to engage in and be operated by the compound cam R, as shown infig. 1, and in dotted lines in fig. 2,. v To this shaft K, I attach an arm, K', bent as shown in fig. 2, and having` its lower end connected by a link to an upright, L', arranged to move vertically, and having kat its upper end a table, N, as shown in figs. I and 2. The upright L passes up alongside the discharge-belt Q, and the table N rises, so as to be, when `at itsgreat'est elevation, on a level with the bottom of the opening y of the die Il, and descends, solas to be, at its greatest descent, on a level with the upper 'side of the dischargebelt Q. Within the frame R, and in front of` and operated by the cam c, I place a follower, N', arranged with a spiral spring, m, and a bearing, n, so as to be moved forward over` the top of the table N, when oh a level with thc discharge-belt Q, and be promptly sprung back by the elasticity ofthe spiral spring m, when released from the pressure of the com c, as shown in fig. 1. v j

In order to accommodate the steam-pipe R to the movements of the plunger-s II and I, I make a portion of it of gutta perche. or othcrilexible material, as shown inviig. 2. In order to tighten promptly, when'desircd, the bel'ting connecting the pulleyfwith the pulley within the standard C', which movesY the discharge-belt Q, I attach an adjustable armfm, with a roller on the under side of the end immediately over the connecting-belt, so that it may be made to press upon it when necessary to 'tighten the belt.

In operating my brick-machine, I first introduce steam into the hollow spaces of the die orjmould, anrliuto the hollow heads of the plungers. When they are .sufficiently heated, I place the clay into the hopper R, and, if desired, meisten and heat it with steam, by turning the cock g', and allow it to passvinto the hopper R. The clay is fed down into the space between the hea-ds of the plungcrs II and I, by means of the plunger S, which is operated by the compound cum R moving the bent shaft Oyand arm F. The mould is -nontformed by the heads of the plungers II, I, and S, and the bottom and sides of the die-box J.. The Aplunger I now reccdes lpartially out of the opening y in the die-box J, and the plunger II advances, shoving the moulded brick into the space g", where it is pressed by the plungers H and I, the cams and d bearing upon them. The plungcrs H and I then are moved, by the action of the cams e and d, together, towards the delivery-end of thc die-box J, and carry with them the mouldedv brick, which is placed on the table N, which has` been elevated by means of the compound cam R, moving the shaft K and the arm Ki', link. l and upright L", and which, by the same means, is caused to descend till its upper surface is ou a line with the 'upper surface of thediscliarging-bclt Q,'when the cam c, pressing against thc bearing 'n of the follower N, drives the follower forward, which, in turn, pushes thc moulded brick olf from the table N, on to the discharge-belt Q, which, when donc, the follower N is released by the cam c ceasing tobcar upon it, and is carried back to its original position by the spiral spring m. At the same instant the clutchon the bevel-wheel Il isengaged with the clutch a', and the pulley p is revolved,'which, in thru, causes the pulley in the standard 0"to revolve and move the discharge-belt Q, which carries the moulded brick out of the frame B. The belt Q continues to move till the cam b operates against the head of the shaft d', moves it back, land disengages the clutch on the bevel-wheel P, with the clutch a,

when the pulleys and the belt' ceasey to move. v While the moulded brick has been thusfcarried out of-the frame, another has been moulded, 'and the table N has returned to its place, to receive it as before; and thus the process maybe continued indenitely. It is obvious that the die and the heads of the plunger-s may be heated by hot air, or in some other way, as well as by steam, though, for many reasons, I prefer-steam, and that with some slight changes in the form of the die and the heads ot' the plungers, tile, pipe, mouldings, or other objects made of clay or similar substances, may be subjected to pressure by my machine, or moulded without pressure.

Having thus described my invention, what I`claim, is

'1. The hopper R, in combination with the plunger S, for feeding the machine, when constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein described and set forth. l

2. Providing the plungers H I and .die-box .I with hollow'chambers, vso that the brick or other materials that are being moulded may be surrounded on all sides with heated surfaces, substantially as shown and described.

l 3. The follower N', in combination with the vertically-moving table N,.for delivering the brick on tothe discharging carrier-belt Q, when constructed andarranged to `operate substantially als herein described and set forth.

4. Impartingto the discharging carrier-belt Q au intermittent motion, bythe means substantially as herein described. l

5. The plungers H and I, providedwith the projections-G G and F F, in combination with the cams d e and the cams a b c, for imparting to them, a reciprocating longitudinal motion, wheneon'strueted and arranged to operate substantially as herein described. v

6. The shaft O, provided with the spiral spring 0, -in combination with the leverp and hook q, when cou. Btructed and arranged to operate substantially as described. Y

` f JOHN ARMSTRONG.

Witnesses:

Jas. F. AGLAR, WM. A2 CLARK. 

